Gold Coast Titans too fast, too hungry and too good for Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons can still make the NRL finals – but it’s only the slimmest of chances – after the Gold Coast Titans steamed home to claim the points on Friday night.
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Two moments of brilliance in the final five minutes from Titans skipper Jamal Fogarty has propelled the Titans to a 14-10 win over St George Illawarra and all but ended the Dragons hopes of a miracle finals berth.
The Dragons enjoyed a mountain of possession all night - they were tackled inside the Titans 20-metre line a whopping 44 times, but all they had to show for it was a 10-4 lead heading into the dying stages of the match.
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For a moment, it appeared as though that would be enough to keep the Red V in the finals race for at least one more week.
But Fogarty helped create a try to Tyrone Peachey via a grubber in the 75th minute to level the scores before he loomed in supported of an AJ Brimson break in the very next set..
With no Josh Papalii in sight to run him down, he scored next to the posts in the shadows of fulltime.
It was a stirring victory from the Titans and puts the final nail in the Dragons finals chances - if Cronulla beat North Queensland on Saturday, Dean Young’s men will be three wins out of the eight with four games to play.
GOODNIGHT SAINTS
The Dragons may be a mathematical chance to make the finals, but they need to move mountaisn to get into the eight from here.
The Red V have nobody but themselves to blame given the amount of possession they enjoyed, with halves Adam Clune and Corey Norman struggling to create any meaningful attack or build pressure through their kicking games.
It’s been a valiant effort from the Dragons to rebound after their horror start to the year, and making the semi-finals would have relied on several results going their way.
“It pisses me off, to be honest, because I know they’re trying but you don’t get two points for trying in this game,” Young said.
“You have to get the job done and they’re all capable of doing their job and in the end we didn’t get our jobs done.
“That’s why we’re sitting here pretty shattered and that’s why the Titans are over there singing the team song.
“The Red V deserves everything, so I’m going to pick a side that’ll go out and win each week.”
TITANIC EFFORT
The Dragons lead 2-0 at the break after a tight first-half, with a Zac Lomax penalty all that separated the two teams.
But Saints had more than enough field position to put some points on the board - the Titans showed commendable spirit in defence, digging in on their own line and turning the Dragons away time and again.
A last-ditch tackle from Keegan Hipgrave on Clune after the St George Illawarra halfback danced through off a scrum and seemed certain to score was a particular highlight.
In the end, the pressure had to tell - Jacob Host finally crossed in the 47th minute from a Ben Hunt short ball after the Dragons had four consecutive sets on the Titans line - but they fought back well and scored themselves through Phillip Sami moments later.
Such effort has become more common under coach Holbrook, who was handed a three-year contract extension during the week.
“The whole game was my highlight. We had six key guys missing tonight, and everyone we put out there was desperate to play,” said Titans coach Justin Holbrook.
“I loved every minute of it. We kept chipping away at them, and we couldn’t get anything to go our way, we didn’t let it distract us and we just kept coming.”
FRIZZ STANDS TALL
Given what we all know he’s capable of, it’s been an up and down season for Dragons backrower Tyson Frizell.
A Test and Origin regular, and one of the Dragons biggest names, Frizell signed with Newcastle for 2021 during the COVID-19 layoff and has not always been able to find his best form since.
But as the hard-nosed backrowers career with the Dragons begins to wind down he’s been improving by the week, and he showed why the Knights were so keen to land him with a powerful display.
Frizell ran the ball like a man possessed, churning through 133 metres from 16 carries - Titans five-eighth Ash Taylor will see him in his nightmares for weeks.
Originally published as Gold Coast Titans too fast, too hungry and too good for Dragons